This beautiful black and white film literally sparkles with the most beautiful costumes in cinematic history. Shearer and Power are luminous and the performance of Robert Morley is a gem. I believe he IS Louis XVI! It is SO much better than than that tedious monstrosity directed by Sophia Coppola. If you've read Antonia Fraser's brilliant book, you'll see the tragic history she describes so vividly come to life. The old-fashioned nature of the film making actually contributes to our ability to surrender our modern sensibility to see a long-ago style of living recreated. And unlike the Coppola film, it is not dull and boring and static, but is filled with action and excitement. Like Fraser extraordinary book, the life of Marie Antoinette is dramatized from her becoming queen of France as a teenager to her white hair and ravaged countenance as she meets her fate. It also dramatizes the so-called Affair of the Necklace much better than the 2002 film of that title. If you can get past the somewhat corny style, you'll really enjoy what old films could do better than all our contemporary technology.
Review of Marie Antoinette
